This paper presents the results of a study carried out in Teresina city, in Piauí state, aimed at understanding the mechanisms that produce educational inequalities in the municipality. Four mechanisms were identified: a) separation between the public and private school systems; b) differences in the educational supply in the state and municipal public school systems; c) differences in the two primary education segments; d) the effect of socio-spatial inequalities on educational oportunities. The conclusion reached was that, because of the differences between school systems, connected to an enrollment system that leads parents to compete with each other for spots at the most prestigious schools, an education quasi-market is created through which academic inequalities are produced. The conclusion was also reached that competition between the systems engenders mechanisms of interdependence and mutual reproduction.
education quasi-market; educational inequalities; territorial effect; educational policies; Teresina
